A Hero's Heart
by EverHere
Summary: Years in the future, Wally has contracted Alzheimer's Disease, and the only person he still remembers is Shayera.


Author's Note: This is my first fan fiction, so I hope you like it! (I don't mind constructive criticism.)

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, they all belong to DC Comics.

An elderly man was staring back at him.

At first, Wally had just been searching through the cabinets in his bathroom for aspirin. When his gaze flickered to the wall, he had almost jumped in surprise at seeing another figure there. He slowly reached out to touch the person, only to have his hand smack a flat surface and leave behind smudgy fingerprints on the shiny surface.

_My reflection_, Wally thought as he ran a hand through his graying hair, watching his double in the mirror copy the move. _That's never happened to me before_, he contemplated. _I can't believe I was fooled by a mirror._

He took a second glance at it only to do a double-take again, except for different reasons. _When did I get so old? _Wally pondered, examining the laugh lines on his face and noticing the sluggish motions he made when trying to move. Well, sluggish for him anyway. To any other bystander, he was quite an energetic and quick-minded man for one his age. It seemed like just yesterday when he was a young and bright redhead working at the police station and running around as the costumed hero known as The..._The what?The Speedster?_

_...The Flash_, a silent voice whispered in his head, reminding him.

The aspirin forgotten, Wally walked into his living room and took a seat. A small feeling of relief went through him, knowing that he could still remember that part of his life. Leaning back in the chair, he eased his mind from the constant thinking. It felt like he was always straining his mind to remember something. Or more really, to not forget.

A soft knock from the back door interrupted the silence, though, and Wally sat back up in his recliner. Before he could say anything, he heard the door open and shut, and could hear footsteps walking past the kitchen door and into the room he occupied.

A woman's figure appeared at the room's doorway, casting a shadow on the floor. What was most striking about her, though, was a pair of magnificent wings that protruded from her back, giving her a similar look to an angel. He remembered this woman. How could he forget?

"Shayera."

"Wally? " She responded, her voice full of concern. "Are you feeling alright today?"

He numbly nodded his head.

"You look depressed."

Shayera sighed inwardly. She hated when this happened to him. It made her feel helpless, and she was never sure how to comfort him. She could remember when Wally had first started to forget things. They had all been shocked when they found out the cause of it. Wally had been frightened. Out of all the people in the Justice League, he was the least expected person to have something like this happen to him.

They had brought him to stay at the Justice League headquarters so they could take of him, but he had started to become homesick, and then as he lost his memory over time, he became scared. It saddened her to hear him speak of his friends and family as though they they were strangers.

Eventually, she was the only person that he could remember anymore. Perhaps it was a blessing. They had moved him back to his house, and Shayera made it a point to visit him everyday, heading straight from from the League, after her shift, to his house.

"The rest of the team wanted to send you their greetings." She commented.

Wally looked at her blankly.

"You know...J'onn, Superman, Diana, John, and Batman?" She prompted.

Shayera glanced at him again and saw his saddened eyes and drooped shoulders. Taking a seat across from him, she leaned over and rested her hand on top of his.

"Wally, tell me what's wrong. I'm listening."

He looked into her eyes. "I wish I was a hero again."

She pulled back suddenly, startled at what he said. "Wally..."

"...Saving people, and actually doing useful things instead of sitting here feeling sorry for myself." He continued.

"Wally." She got his attention this time. "You still _are_ a hero."

"No," he shook his head, "real heroes are smart and remember things."

Shayera grabbed his shoulders with such a sudden ferocity that he jumped, and her sharp green eyes bore into him.

"Don't you _ever_ say that!" She snapped. "You're still a hero, Wally, and you don't need a quick mind to be one."

Shayera suddenly stood up and started to walk around the room.

"Your mind calculates probabilities and certainties, but it cannot discern the difference between right and wrong like the heart can, Wally."

She started pacing back and forth, ticking each point off of her fingers. "It's your heart that tells you to fight for what is right, regardless of the danger. It is unwavering in the face of despair, it motivates you to strive for the truth, helps you to trust, and believes in love."

Shayera turned and looked at him earnestly. "It's your heart that makes you a hero, _never_ your mind."

She seated herself back into the chair and looked into his eyes.

"And you still have the heart of a hero, Wally. As long as your heart is in the right place, you will always have it."

Wally stared intently at her face and saw the honesty in her eyes. He was silent for a moment, taking in what she had just said. He didn't even feel his eyes begin to water and a single tear fall down his face.

"Thanks, Shayera."

She nodded. "And that's the truth. Don't ever forget that."

After a moment of silence, she spoke up again a bit more cheerfully, "How about we take a walk? I'll be right right with you the whole time, and you can see the stars very clearly tonight."

Wally gave her a small smile. "Yeah, okay."

Shayera walked over to the coat hangers and lifted his jacket off the hook. Walking back, she helped him stand and put on his jacket, and then gently led him to the back door.

"You know, we still have your chair in the founding members conference room. You can come back whenever you feel like visiting." She commented.

"Yeah, maybe I will sometime." Then, as an afterthought, Wally added, "...it had better still have my name engraved on it."

He smiled, "'Cause it would just be a waste to spend Bat's money on my chair, only to have it removed..."

Shayera stopped in her tracks and gaped at him, staring in amazement, as he continued walking towards the door, completely oblivious to what he had just said. _He remembered_, she smiled.

She stepped over and opened the door for him. She grinned again. No matter what anyone said, or what Wally remembered at a time, somewhere inside him, those feelings and memories were perfectly preserved. Maybe not in the mind, but in the heart.

The heart of a hero.


End file.
